Not how it should be
by Nibbs
Summary: The Titans are normal teens and Dick Grayson wakes up convinced the universe is off tilt so he tries to track down four other normal teens and to form a team against the threat of enemies they didn't know existed.
1. Default Chapter

OK so I don't own the characters and be grateful. If I owned DC comics, I would have run it into the ground a long time ago.  
The story is mine and I think I know what everyone will be expecting in the story line (bear in mind I said THINK) so I'm going to try to go in a whole different direction to that. Please review, please, 

Something was wrong.

That was the first thing that went through Dick's head when he woke up, He was in the same bed as he always was, in the same room he had been as a child in his home.

But still was something felt wrong, like he should be somewhere else entirely.  
He thought about asking Bruce about it but dismissed the thought. His guardian was many things but a touchy feely was something he couldn't do.

He could ask Alfred about it but he would most likely tell him that it was all a part of growing up and wanting to spread his wings and then suggest some breakfast.

Dick had no problem with the well meaning advice and he always liked the idea of breakfast being a solution but he was almost certain that the feeling he was having wasn't something common.  
He genuinely felt that he should be somewhere else with someone else.

In all likelihood he would have stayed in bed trying to figure it out or even hide from it.  
Like Bruce who had taught him everything he knew, feelings were best left alone and not prodded or they might lead to near disaster.

However Alfred had different ideas and had hunted him from bed for school.

'Stupid private school' Dick grumbled as he pulled on an old pair of jeans and a long sleeved white tee shirt, throwing a short sleeved red tee shirt over it.

Alfred took one look at him and shook his head; they had always differed over the topic of clothes.

Dick didn't want it to look like his clothes cost every cent that they did which resulted in him trying to look as casual as possible while Alfred believed that a young gentleman should dress in a manner befitting a young gentleman of high society.

So with the usual 'tut tut' Alfred served him his breakfast.  
Turning down the offer of a lift to school and ignoring the mildly surprised look on the butlers face, Dick grabbed his bag and headed off to school.

Today he strayed slightly from his route, in that he had no intention of going to school.  
He couldn't shake his misplaced feeling and it was bothering him more when he tried not to think about it and school would only prove to be a distraction from trying to figure it out.  
If he could figure it out he'd be able to let it rest.

He walked through the streets of Gotham aimlessly.  
After a few hours walking, staring and thinking, one thing became apparent.  
He was hungry.  
This was turning out to be big mistake, he hadn't figured anything out and now he was hungry with a lecture waiting for him he got home.

He stopped in front of a small restaurant called 'Casper's place' that looked run down.  
It was the kind of place that would appal Alfred and almost made Dick wince.

But for some reason he wanted to go in.  
He groaned at the thought of explaining this one.

"Yeah ever felt like the universe was jabbing you in the back and annoying you to go somewhere you didn't want to go" he imagined himself telling Bruce.

Yeah that would go down real well.

Regardless of those nagging though he walked into the place which was surprisingly cleaner on the inside It was small enough with a few booths lining the walls and some stools at the counter.  
A small selection of framed photos hung on the wall.

A tall heavy set man in his forties with a greasy complexion with long brown straggly hair tied back hidden under a white headband.

His beady eyes flicked towards him and then left him just as quickly, turning back to the other man sitting at the counter.

Dick slumped into a chair thinking that he wasn't going to get served anytime soon.  
His thoughts wandered back towards the weird feeling in his gut when a voice interrupted them.

"You look lonely" a sweet voice observed gently.

He looked to see who was talking to him.

"I am sorry, it is not my place to be making such personal observations, and I just saw you and you looked like you needed some company and I am constantly being told by Casper that I should not poke my nose in and I am very apologetic if I offended you" the girl standing before him said, the words rushing out.

Dick hadn't heard a word she said though; he was too busy looking at this unusual diamond in the rough.

She was tall and had richly tanned skin leading Dick to believe that she was from some tropical Island.  
Two thick braids of ruby red hair hung down to her slim waist, some stray strands fell across her forehead and rested at the side of her face.  
A lilac bandana covered the top of her head.

A pair of cropped trousers hugged her long legs and sleeveless lavender top rested on the curves that were forming. A white apron hung off her hips. The most interesting thing about her were her eyes, they were large almond shaped and were emerald green with flecks of light green.

"Its ok" he managed to say.

The girl smiled, relieved.

"I could always use some company. I'm Dick" he said, extending his hand.

The girl smiled brightly, shaking his hand.

"My names Kori"

The girl was a complete stranger but he felt drawn to her, almost as if she'd understand everything he was going through.  
Bearing this in mind and the fact he'd never have to see her again if he didn't want to, he Began speaking. "Kori, have you ever" he couldn't finish the question.

In theory it should have been easy to ask about her his weird thoughts but he was raised to keep emotions personal and it had worked well in the past for him, allowing him to bottle up pain and frustration.  
It was near impossible to break a habit developed over a lifetime into the span of twenty seconds. Kori eyed him strangely.

"Have I ever thought?" she asked.

"Um about people" he finished lamely.

He shouldn't be this clumsy with his words but the girl was unnerving as well as soothing

Then it hit him, he needed her around.  
He had to find people, people like her who brought about the strange feeling of satisfaction and they'd know the answers or maybe they'd feel the same way.  
Kori was definitely one of these people; he felt a really strong link with her which had to mean something because he found it very hard to bond with others.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?" he asked in a defeated voice when he saw her eyes searching his face for something.

"No I do not think you are crazy. I think I we have...its silly of me to say"

"What's going on here?" a deep gravelly voice demanded.

The man behind the counter was approaching them with a scowl on his face.  
He stopped directly in front of them and glared at Kori.

"So now you can be friendly?" he demanded.

"Casper" Kori began but was cut off.

"You're too good for everyone but this guy? Looking down your ungrateful little nose at our regulars but for some kid who hasn't even ordered anything, you're throwing yourself at him?" the man named Casper growled.

"I am not throwing myself at him. He has treated me with respect as I have him. Perhaps if your regulars were not three times my age and insistent on grabbing me and insinuating certain things about me, I would treat them with respect too!" Kori shot back, eyes blazing.

"You know something princess. You owe me a lot, if I didn't let you work here where do you think you'd be, huh? The gutter or worse, that's where! You'll treat me with respect and you won't ever give me lip again or so help me, I throw your sorry butt onto the streets so fast"

Kori took a step back, trying to back away from Casper whose face had turned red with anger and did look menacing.

"Leave her alone" Dick said, watching Kori.

"Maybe it'd do you good, make you see you ain't something special. You think I'd let you come crawling back then, do ya?"

"Leave her alone" Dick stood now, trying to distract Casper from his task of tearing shreds off Kori whose eyes were glazed over with tears.

Casper looked at him and his beady eyes widened.

"You're that rich kid!" he exclaimed before he turned to Kori again.

"You thought a kid like him be interested in you! You gotta be kidding me, he's not looking for a two dollar roll in the sack with you, you know? "

That was going too far and before Kori or Casper knew what had happened, Dick had grabbed Casper's shirt, clenching his fists tightly around it.  
He was stronger that he looked.

"I said Leave.Her.Alone"

Casper gave him a nervous grin.

"Mr Gray you got it all wrong. Me and princess, we're always like this, I wasn't serious you know? Princess is like my flesh and blood" he cried out struggling to get away.

Dick let go of him and gave him a cold glare.

"She's NOTHING like you. Now leave us alone!"

Casper scurried off into the kitchen and the one or two spectators turned back to their coffee.  
Dick groaned inwardly, embarrassed by his own heroics.

Kori was probably used to Casper and didn't need him to jump in and play the knight in shining armour.  
She was probably going to tell him any minute where he could stick his hero antics.

Instead, Kori crouched down on her knees, folding her arms on his table and resting her chin on her arms.  
Her eyes held such warmth that Dick felt he couldn't look away.

"That was one of the kindest things, no one has ever defended me in that manner...thank you" she said sincerely taking hold of his hand in her own and squeezing it gently.

Dick grinned at her.

"Anytime" he smirked teasingly. "Princess"

Kori swatted him with her hand playfully.  
A phone ringing interrupted them and Kori raised an eyebrow at him as he did nothing.

"Your pants are ringing" she pointed out.

Dick was trying to ignore his mobile but whoever was calling had no intention of leaving him alone. With a frustrated grunt, he pulled out the small fliptop phone hastily, answering it.

"Oh Hey Alfred" he began.

Kori was about to walk away when Dick grabbed her wrist and shook his head at her.  
Kori slipped into the chair opposite him and listened to the one sided conversation.

"Yeah they rang you? That was presumptuous of them"

There was a pause.

"No I'm not trying to be smart; yes I do want to make something of myself. Yes I concede that a major factor of doing well in school is attending school… yeah I'm going, I'm going.  
See you later. Bye"

Dick sighed as he pocketed the phone.

"That was my butler, Al"

"You have a butler? A person who has a butler wanted to eat is 'Casper's place'?"

"See I should be in school now" he explained.

Kori giggled adorably.

"And instead you chose to stay here?" she asked, surprised and amused.

"I told you I could use the company"

"I better get going or else you'll have a very upset and horrified butler in here who won't leave till the place is 'spick and span'"

"I bet Casper would love that"

Dick grinned at her and looked at his watch.  
He really had to get going if he wanted to avoid getting in more trouble.

"I'll drop by again" he promised heading for the door.

Kori stood at his table and smiled at him gently.

"Please do"

Dick gave her one last look before rushing out of the restaurant and toward school,  
deciding to come back to this restaurant and its bewitching red haired waitress as much as he could.

To be continued

Please review now please?


	2. Chapter 2

OK I'm sorry about the characters because I think I've gotten them wrong.  
I don't own the characters, DC does and I'm guessing they're quite happy with that Please read and review.

Chapter 2

Kori busied herself with the tables and the small wet cloth she had.  
It always shocked her to see people leave the tables in the state they did.  
She was leaning over the table, scrubbing some fizzy drink that had been spilled and left to pool and harden, leaving a very sticky mess.

"Could someone please pass me the cleaner, please?" she asked politely not looking back.

She'd left the bottle on the counter and she knew for a fact that there were still customers at the counter.  
They grunted into response so she craned her neck to see what was so distracting.

Leaning over the table as she was, she had put herself in a compromising position and the customers were enjoying the view, so to speak.  
She shot up and shot them all glares and they turned back to their meals, disappointed.

Kori began spraying the table absentminded, her thoughts drifted back to Dick.  
He had definitely made an impact with his jet black hair and rich blue eyes and pale skin.  
He was shorter than her by an inch or so but she didn't mind.  
He wasn't lanky or bodybuilder proportioned, but he was toned and muscular with a wash board flat stomach with a six pack forming.

What impressed her more than his appearance, which really did impress her, was just him.  
The way he stood up for her, the way he smiled at her, talked to her and how he hid.  
He was so private, his heart closed off, she could tell.

She had a sense about these things and since she met him, her sense was all over the place.  
There was so much she wanted to share with him and so much she wanted him to share with her.  
It was ridiculous but she imagined that he if he asked, she'd follow wherever he led.

Kori giggled at herself, always the hopeless idealist.  
Her pleasant daydreams were squashed with a gruff "Get the man a refill, princess!"

Dick strode into the restaurant; sunglasses perched on his nose preventing anyone from making eye contact with him unless he wanted them to.  
He had dressed more carefully today in a pair of chino's, a black tee shirt and a suede jacket and was scanning the restaurant for Kori.

The door of the kitchen swung open and Dick instantly tried to look bored and annoyed, playing it 'cool'.  
The effect was slightly ruined when his passive expression turned into a scowl.

"Mr Grayson!" Casper cried out, from the kitchen door.  
"Was hoping you'd drop by, got the nicest place in the joint for ya!" he announced with triumph, moving towards a booth near the window.

Kori emerged from the kitchen and smiled shyly when she saw him.  
Dick grinned back and interrupted Casper.

"I'll sit at the counter!" he insisted much to Casper's horror.

"Alright whatever you want, My Grayson. Kori!" he growled in frustration as Kori approached him from behind.

"Kori, get your sorry butt out here "he turned around and jumped when he saw her standing right behind him "Don't do that!"

"Do what, Casper?" she asked innocently.

Dick wasn't sure but if it was anyone else but Kori standing behind her boss like that with her blank face and eyes wide with innocence, he would sworn they snuck up on their boss just to give him a fright, although given her little grin when he turned away from her again, that wasn't impossible

"Hi Dick" Kori greeted cheerfully stepping behind the counter and stopping opposite him.

"I didn't think you'd come back" she carried on, leaning in the kitchen door reaching fir something.  
She popped back out with a plate loaded with raw meat.  
Dick stared at the vast amounts of meat.

"Expecting a four thirty rush of ravenous tigers?" he asked, nodding at the food.

Kori stared at him puzzled before she let out a childish giggle.

"Something like that" she answered vaguely.

"You get that order sorted yet?" Casper demanded gruffly from the kitchen.

"You told me never to interfere with the running of this joint or you'd throw me out so fast, I'd go forward twenty years in the future and see what crazy bag lady I'd become" Kori recited, placing her finger on her cheek with her eyes raised, like she was really thinking about this.

Dick shot him a dirty look for being so rude to Kori yet again and Casper flushed, and shuffled into the kitchen muttering something about having parrots in his business.

The front door burst open, sending the little bell into frenzy.  
Kori was completely unfazed as she slipped various meats onto different grills while Dick turned to the noise instantly.

An African American teen stood at the door.  
He looked to be the same age as Dick, maybe a year older and was much more muscular than him, like he was always working out.  
He had narrow grey eyes and was wearing an old tee shirt over a pair of tracksuit pants.  
His gaze flew to Kori immediately who watched him with a smile.

"Hey Kori, guess who's just been promised the football scholarship in the Gotham Knights training program?" he yelled out, his voice bouncing around the small restaurant.

"You always ask me such questions and the answer is invariably the same" Kori pointed out, amused.

"C'mon girl, one lil' guess?" he almost pleaded.

"You?" both Dick and Kori answered in unison.

"Yeah it's me!" he looked at Dick curiously. "Who are you?"

"This is Dick, he's very kind. he stood up for me to Casper yesterday and it was the first time here" Kori answered for him, proudly.

The teen at the door eyed him carefully and then grinned.

"Well alright!" he sank onto the chair next to Dick.

"I'm Victor" he said, clapping Dick on the back which practically slammed him to the floor.

"Fire up the grills, Kori cause we are celebratin'' baby!"

Kori flipped the meat over and slid the meat that was done on to the plates before plopping a couple plates in front of Victor.  
Dick stared at him in disbelief.

"You're going to eat all that ?"

"Sure am, growing boy needs to keep up his strength" Victor answered through a mouth of steak.

"So you probably go to Gotham Prep or something, right?" he asked after his first swallow.

Dick nodded mutely, staring at the vats amount of meat being wolfed down.

"No offence dude but your defence sucks!"

"Means nothing to me, I don't play sports" Dick replied casually.

"How about you Kori, where do you?" he trailed off realising the answer as he asked the question.

He had went in at about ten or eleven the day before when he should have been at school and Kori had been there all the time and she was still here meaning she probably didn't go to school.

"You think Princess has enough going on inside her head to get past first grade?" Casper's rude voice butted in.

He was about to laugh at his own joke when he saw the two boys and froze.  
They had both jumped to their feet and balled their fists.  
Casper backed into the kitchen and peered out to see if they were still shooting daggers at him.  
They were.

Kori looked down, shame written on her face.

"Aw c'mon. You got more smarts in there than Casper has those weird nose hairs"

Kori smiled in spite of herself and even managed a weak giggle.

"Why do you take that? You could get a job somewhere else; you don't have to listen to that guy?" Dick demanded, his tone was harder than he meant it to be.

Dick immediately regretted his tone when he saw her sniff; she looked like a little lost girl who was just scolded by a stranger for bumping into them.

"I can't" and with that she ran to the kitchen.

"Man, I don't get it" Victor began as soon as she was out of earshot.

"Get what?"

"Kori! I mean, the girls not gonna win the Nobel Prize anytime soon but she's smart. A guy in her apartment block is a teacher and he teaches her an hour every night. People land way better jobs than this with half her brains. And girls who look like that are usually snapped up for modelling jobs in a second right?"

Dick thought about this, it did seem strange.

"Maybe no one's ever offered the job?" he suggested.

"That ain't it, man. Me and Kori, we've been friends for a while now, ever since she started working here. My parents are scientists; they're always trying to get me into it too. So I tell em' about Kori one day and they said that was a waste for someone so young. They get me to tell Kori they'd take her on, give her a job that wouldn't interfere with school and they'd even help her get up to pace and Kori took one look at Casper and told me 'no'."

"Maybe it's the pay"

"Nah, she gets next to nothing for pay and she's constantly in here. I don't think she ever gets a day off"

Dick stroked his chin thoughtfully. There was definitely something off here when a strange idea occurred to him.

"Maybe he's got something on her"

"What?"

"Maybe he knows something about her that she doesn't want anyone else to know and he's using it to tie her down to this place"

Victor looked dubious.

"Like what, think the dude's her dad?"

"Nah, given how ugly he is, he would have had to be with an incredibly hot woman to have a daughter who looks like Kori and I think we both know that isn't possible"

"Can't argue with that"

"Argue with what?"

Kori was back and was watching them curiously.  
Dick looked at her carefully; there were no signs that she was upset at all even though moments before she had nearly been in tears.

She apparently hid things too, they were fast friends but they knew next to nothing about them and he got the feeling Victor didn't know much more than he did about the strange girl.

He wanted to help her but he couldn't when he didn't know the problem or anything about the person he was trying to help.

"That this is the best steak in the entire city" Victor answered, ripping a chunk of the steak off with his teeth.

"I've gotta go" Dick said quickly and left the restaurant abruptly before Kori or Victor could say anything to him.

Kori shot Victor a confused look and Victor shrugged in response.

"What's she hiding?" Dick asked himself as he made his way back home.

The question plagued him for hours.  
He couldn't figure it out, probably because he knew next to nothing about the situation but one thing he did know that a guy like Casper was going to be the end of Kori.  
There was only so much of that you could take without letting it get to you and from the display earlier he guess that Casper had gotten to her and was crushing her very slowly and painfully.

It had driven crazy enough that he decided to go see his guardian about the matter.  
He hated asking Bruce for anything and when he did he tried to do it with as little words as possible and never actually wording his request.

Bruce in return would give him a brief appraising look and as long as he deemed acceptable would provide whatever it was Dick was looking for.

Dick was pacing in front of his office for ten minutes before Bruce had enough and called him in.  
This led to a stalemate.

Bruce watched him, waiting for whatever it was he wanted to speak and Dick didn't want to ask him even though he wanted the help, both too stubborn to risk speaking first before Dick grunted in frustration and caved.

"I need to get some information on someone"

If Bruce was surprised, he didn't show it. He merely raised an eyebrow, telling Dick to elaborate without using any words.

"It's this girl I met yesterday"

"There are easier ways to deal with girls that catch your eye" his older man replied coldly, with a clearly unimpressed face.

"No! That's not it! Look, I just want to help her ok? She's my age and she's not going to school, she's working in this cheap, run down greasy spoon cafe and her boss is making her work these ridiculous hours for practically no pay and he treats her like something he scraped off the bottom of his shoe. I think he's got something on her and I want to help her but I can't because she's.... private"

"If she's private as you say, maybe it would be better to leave her that way"

"Leave this guy walk all over her because he knows something. You know that's not right!"

"Things often are not"

Dick glared at him and stormed out muttering about never asking for a favour ever again.  
He spent the night trying to find information but he just didn't have the resources his mentor did.  
By the time morning rolled around, his temper had only worsened.

Bruce was gone on some business trip so he'd be having breakfast on his own again.  
He smirked at the thought of skipping school again and spending the day in Casper's just to annoy his mentor.

Alfred however had different plans, after serving breakfast he arrived in with a bulky file and handed it to Dick.

"What's this?"

"Mr Wayne instructed me to give you that and to escort you to the police station. Your friend is already there"

"What?!"

To be continued. 


	3. Chapter 3

OK I want to say thanks so, so much to the people who reviewed.  
You made my week, you saucy minxes ,you.  
Well I don't own the characters; someone else did all the hard work. I'm just writing away about it.  
Oh yeah sorry if I have some legal stuff wrong, I have no idea how American law works.  
Anyway please read and review. Please please please?

Chapter 3

"Ok go over this again, why did Bruce have my friend arrested?" Dick asked from the back of a long black stretch limo.

Dick wanted to sit in the front but Alfred wouldn't hear of it so now he was flicking through this file his guardian had put together for him, in the back seat .

He didn't want to wade through all this information that Bruce had managed to find on Kori so he just skimmed through it, not really taking in any information..

He was curious however about the news clippings in there, he hadn't read them but he wanted to know what the girl had done that was newsworthy  
Dick never could read in a car, it always gave him a headache.

"Not arrested, Master Dick detained. It seems your friend Ms Anders is underage, she should not legally be working"

Dick looked at her Birth Cert and indeed the year she was born was highlighted in luminous yellow.  
She was fifteen.

"And the young miss has no legal guardian"

"What about her family?" Dick asked, assuming a girl like her would be a family baby.

"Young sir, you really ought to examine those files. Her parents are dead"

Dick winced, thinking about what those newspaper clippings could have been about.

"And her sister is, well being detained elsewhere. The young miss in underage and is living on her own and Mr Wayne thought that if we drew attention to these facts, that she might flee as the young lady does seem to be tad prone to running"

"How much of this did Casper know?"

"Oh not to worry young sir. That unsavoury character the young miss worked for only knew of her age. He employed her knowing that the young lady would allow him to be as cruel as he liked as long as he didn't tell anyone she was underage. Young Ms Anders does not appear to take kindly to social services and they would most certainly had to have had meetings"

Dick leaned his head back and closed his eyes, second guessing his own motives.

"We're here, young sir" Alfred's voice called out breaking his reverie.

Dick snapped up and looked out the window at the tall granite building where Gotham police station resided.  
If Kori really did have such a problem with being tracked down, then she was probably terrified about now.

Alfred slid out or the car and moved to open the door for Dick who climbed out himself and shut the door, still staring up at the skyscraper.

"Come along now" Alfred said as he led Dick through the building to the main desk.

Dick couldn't stop himself from gazing around the building.  
If Bruce hadn't taken him in way back when, he could still be bouncing around the system, coming back to this office every second week because he couldn't settle down with a foster family, or worse still, he could be completely backed into a corner like Kori was because she was so scared of getting caught.

"Master Dick?" Alfred probed gently.

Dick looked at him.

"Just thinking" he answered.

Alfred walked over to the elevator and waited for Dick to step inside before he stepped in and closed the door.  
They both were the focus of everyone's puzzled glances in the elevator.  
It wasn't everyday you say the richest and most powerful man in the city's heir and butler walking about social services.

"Certainly allows us some perspective, doesn't it?" Alfred muttered to Dick who looked at him, impressed.

It was not the first time Dick was convinced that Alfred was psychic.

The elevator came to stop with a pleasant "Bing bong"

"This is our floor, right?" Dick asked and Alfred nodded.

The left the elevator, leaving the confused expressions behind them.  
Alfred seemed to know where he was going so Dick followed suit when a flash of red caught his eye and he stopped.

He was standing in front of a small grey room with a glass door leading into and a pane of glass making up half the wall.

Inside a teenage girl sat , curled up in a chair, hands underneath her folded legs, head hanging and her long red hair left loose and curtaining her face,.  
Dick recognised her instantly.

"Alfred!" he hissed at the butler who was walking on oblivious of Dick's discovery.  
Alfred approached him and glanced inside the window.

"Ah that's the young miss?"

Dick shushed him and slowly wrapped his hand around the door handle twisting it slightly so that the door opened lightly.  
He leant up against the wall, looking as if he was bored out of his mind all the while listening into the conversation in the room inside.

Across a small table from Kori, a man and a woman were seated.  
The man spoke first.

"You know you're underage?" he asked.

Kori nodded again.

"You know you shouldn't have been working" the woman continued.

She nodded again.

"You know you're too young not to be in someone's custody?" the man picked up.

Kori nodded again.

"Listen, Kori. We're not the bad guys here; we're just trying to get you a nice environment. You're still a child, you're still learning and developing and if you're not in a thriving environment then you're talents will be wasted. We want to see you make something of yourself. Your intentions are good, we can see that, a lot of other girls your age would have gone down a different path, trying to make a living on their own and they would probably be going down that path the rest of their lives. But you chose an honest job and that's a great start" the man explained studying Kori, waiting for a reaction.

"We know about your family's troubles"

Her head shot up at that.  
Her eyes burned with anger.

"That's none of your business" she growled.

Alfred decided that this would be a good time to make their presence known.  
He cleared his throat drawing everyone's attention to Dick and himself.  
Kori looked at Dick wide eyed, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Can we help you?" the woman asked curtly, not taking the interruption too kindly.

"I have a letter from Mr. Wayne regarding Ms Anders" Alfred explained, pulling out a pristine white envelope from his waistcoat.

The man took it from Alfred.  
Everyone watched him as his eyes flicked back and forth over the letter, making a surprised sound when he had finished.

"Well this is an interesting revelation" he commented, handing the letter to the woman and sank into his chair.

He looked at Kori who was still trying to figure out why a guy she knew for two days had showed up suddenly.

"It seems Kori that Mr Wayne has taken it upon himself to be your legal guardian. Seeing as no one else directly related to you is in the position to take you, I'd say someone up there likes you"

Kori uncurled and stood up looking back at Dick with eyebrows knitted.

"Why would he want to do that?" she asked the man sitting at the desk.

"Why, he wishes to help" Alfred replied,

"But he doesn't even know me!"

Dick suddenly became very aware if himself.

"But I do" he admitted.

Kori stared at him in awe.

"You did this? Because of you Mr Wayne has offered me such a wonderful opportunity?"

"Kinda" Dick hoped he didn't look as embarrassed as he felt.

In a blur, Kori has grabbed him and hugged him tightly, her arms wrapped around his neck and she laughed with joy.  
Dick put his arms around her awkwardly; hugging was definitely something he was not accustomed to.  
He managed to hug her back weakly when Alfred cleared his throat loudly and Kori pulled away from him just as suddenly.

"Um Alfred, this is Kori. Kori this is my butler, Alfred" Dick introduced.

Kori fidgeted; feeling terribly underdressed for meeting a butler.  
She watched him shyly as he appraised her in her yellow vest and old loose jeans.  
She offered her hand gingerly and he took it gently in his own.

"It's nice to meet you?" she sounded half afraid that he'd lecture her about something.

"The pleasure is mine, young miss" he replied politely.

"Well looks like everything is taken care of" the woman with the letter muttered bitterly.

Dick placed his hand in the small of Kori's back and was about to guide her out of the room when the woman blocked the door.

"Listen up because I'm only going to say this once. I don't like this at all; I think your precious guardian has just made a big mistake because he wants to handpick the prettiest ones for his precious protégé. When and believe me when I saw when and not if this goes wrong, I will be all over this and I'll make sure this girl gets a real chance"

The man with her grabbed her by the arm gently and gave him a grave look.

"Calm yourself, Carmen" he warned.

"I can safely assure that there will be no better place for the young lady than Wayne Manor" Alfred promised his tone even and dignified.

Once they were a safe distance from the office and were standing on the footpath outside the building, Kori let out a cry of joy and twirled around.

"Thank you so much. I really thought I was trapped there" she gushed, looking at the other two with relief written on her face.

"We just wanted to help" Dick said with a grin pleased with their work.

Kori turned to leave but stopped and turned around facing them.

"I really do own you, all of you. Thanks for the help; I'll make it up to you"

Dick and Alfred exchanged puzzled glances.

"Where are you going?" Dick asked bluntly.

"Well I was going home and then I was going to look for a job. Safe to say I won't be getting a job at Casper's again" her tone was matter of fact.

"Young Miss, I was instructed to ensure your arrival to Wayne Manor"

It was Kori's turn to look bewildered.

"You were...that was not something you said to upset Carmen?" she asked.

"No we're here to bring you back with us. You thought we did all this to irk someone?" Dick asked.

He reached out to her but she jerked away from him.

"No that doesn't make sense. Why would you someone like Bruce Wayne want someone like me hanging around. I assumed he'd just check in on me every now and again"

Alfred's lips quirked upwards in a brief smile.

"That would make him a rather irresponsible guardian, wouldn't it?"

"But I cannot impose like that" she insisted.

"Not really your call anymore" Dick argued.

Alfred watched the teens interact and sighed. The young lady's stubborn nature would have made Bruce proud.  
And often the best way to respond to stubborn behaviour was reasonable behaviour.

"Would you rather that you continued to live on your own, waiting to be caught yet again?" he asked calmly, his tone left very little room for argument.

"No" Kori admitted, his tone was somewhat sulky and she looked up at Alfred under her eyelashes, he was reminded of a young child who had just lost an argument.

Dick watched them with amusement.  
He always found it amusing watching people deal with Alfred when they were unused to his tactics. 

"Its not that I don't appreciate, I really do. But I couldn't impose myself on Mr.Wayne after he has done so much for me already" Kori made her last ditch effort at protesting.

Alfred was holding her elbow and was leading her into the car.

"Hey you're in luck, Bruce's not here at the moment. So you won't be imposing on him and me and Alfred could never turn down having a fresh face around the manor, could we Alfred?" he joked.

"Indeed not, sir"

Alfred had opened the door and both males were waiting for Kori to get in first, partially die to a sense of chivalry but mostly due to fear of Kori making a break for it.

"And you are certain that this is acceptable?" she asked, scrunching her nose at Dick and looking at him suspiciously.

Dick had to laugh at her expression.  
This girl had to be good for your health.

"If it were not, miss, I daresay we would have left you here due to sheer exasperation" Alfred answered somehow managing to make a threat sound flattering.

Kori let out a giggle and slipped into the car, much to the relief of Dick and Alfred who both harboured fears of standing by the door of the limo for hours reasoning and debating with Kori.  
Dick followed her in and after he had closed their door, Alfred slipped into the front seat.

"I'm of the belief that no three finer men could be found than the three who have done me such a great service" Kori announced proudly.

"See, if we left you behind, there would be no one to stroke our egos shamelessly and with a house full of men, you need that"

"And I am of the belief that the Manor shall be a much cheerier and pleasant environment with your arrival" Alfred added, making Kori blush.

"Hey, are you saying me and Bruce aren't cheery and pleasant?" Dick asked jokingly.

The clucking of Alfred's tongue spoke more volumes than his word would and Kori's laughter filled the spacious car.

"I have never been in a limo, I cannot imagine myself in a manor" she began, looking around, wide eyed.

"It's not so different from a normal house. In fact it's probably not so different from where you live. Where do you live?" Dick asked, congratulating himself on the smoothness of his question concerning her past.

Kori was staring out the window and she didn't turn to look at him.

"I lived in a small street near the city centre" she began but her voice drifted off.

"All your life?" Dick pushed.

Kori turned to look at him.

"No I lived there for a couple of years, up until that stage I lived in Maui"

Dick blinked.

"Maui, like Hawaii?"

Kori nodded and Dick cocked a grin.

"Ok so maybe they're not exactly alike"

Kori gave him a small grin when suddenly the limo skidded to a stop.  
Something had exploded outside the car.  
Dick and Kori scrambled out of the car and found themselves in a thick mist.  
Dick pounded on Alfred's door and practically pulled it off its hinges.  
Kori helped him pull Alfred out of the car who had struck his head on the wheel.

"Dick, what's going on?" Kori cried in a panicked voice.

"I don't know!" he snapped back, trying to wake Alfred.

"Well then, perhaps you'd appreciate my version of events" a silky smooth voice stated, coming from somewhere in the mist.

To be continued.


	4. Chapter 4

Heya. Sorry about the delay but things have been kinda busy lately and my p.c is being such a pain.  
"Lani" means heavenly in Hawaiian so that's that.  
Um thanks for the reviews, they mean a lot to me.  
So please read and review and I don't own the characters.

Dick's eyes darted around, trying to find the source of the voice but he couldn't make out anything through the haze.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

His clenched his fists waiting for answer.  
No answer came and he could feel his heart quicken.  
He glanced down at Kori who was kneeling down next to Alfred, trying to revive him.  
She looked up at him with fear but she seemed to be doing a good job containing it, she was tougher than he gave her credit for.  
Alfred was moaning slightly but showed no signs of stirring.

"Who's there?' Dick asked again, trying to keep his voice firm.

A smooth laugh broke the silence. Dick craned his neck, trying to work out where the laugh came from but it sounded like it was all around them. Soon a blurry silhouette of a tall, muscular man came into view.  
Dick positioned himself in front of Kori protectively.

"So chivalrous" the smooth voice drawled.

"Who are you and what do you want from us?"

"It's not what I want, its what I expect from you"

Kori stood up.

"Then what is it you expect from us?" she asked evenly, having found her courage

The figure chuckled again.

"That would be giving the game away" he replied.

Dick was shaking with rage.

"This is some game to you?" he yelled.

The figure looked like it was getting closer.

"And it's just begun"

Both teens backed up as they saw the figure approaching.  
They still couldn't make out anything about him other than his shape when the sounds sirens sliced through the air. The figure heard them too as he stopped.

"We'll continue this next time, children. We shall be seeing one another again" the figure tossed something at them and it landed at their feet.

The figure disappeared into the smoke.  
Neither Kori nor Dick moved for a few moments making sure that whoever was there was gone now.

Dick was the first to react; he stooped down and picked up the disc thrown at them. Kori was leaning against the car for support.  
The mist was beginning to clear and they could see the police and ambulance on the road.

Kori sank to her knees and crawled over to Alfred, taking out the handkerchief folded neatly in his pocket and dabbed the thin stream of blood running from a gash on his forehead.  
Dick joined her, trying to wake him up.

The police arrived a few minutes later and the ambulance straight afterwards.  
Kori stood by the door watching as the paramedics lifted Alfred onto a stretcherd and wheeled him inside the ambulance.

One of the police was talking to Dick.

"So what exactly happened?"

Dick hesitated before answering.

"Someone was driving way too fast and they tried to run us off the road, Alfred swerved to avoid them and we crashed" he lied, ignoring the disapproving look Kori was giving him.  
His fist tightened around the small disc.

The officer scratched his head and gave Dick a suspicious look and Dick stared straight back him as if daring him to comment.

"Well in any case, you two will need a ride to the hospital; one of you can ride in the ambulance or you both can catch a lift with me"

Dick was about to say something most likely offensive when Kori placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I would appreciate the lift very much, officer. Dick can ride in the ambulance" she replied gently.

"Ok, hop in" the officer held a door open for Kori and she slid in with a grateful smile aimed at the officer.  
Dick grudgingly climbed in and Kori squeezed his hand.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the hospital and Alfred was seen to immediately.  
Being such a personal employee of Mr. Wayne ensured top class treatment.  
Kori and Dick were both seated outside Alfred's room, waiting Dick was examining the disc in his hand.  
It was metal and had a silver S grafted onto a black and orange circle.

"Why did you lie to the police" Kori's tentative voice broke the silence

"Why did he attack us? What was to gain?" Dick asked himself.

"Why did you lie about what happened?" Kori pushed.

"Yes why have you started lying in a police investigation" a low voice asked.

Kori and Dick both looked up and saw a tall man standing before them.  
Dressed immaculately in a black pinstripe suit with a white shirt and a red tie He had an impressive build which towered above them.  
Something about him was dangerous, the way he stood, and his chiselled features were sharp and stony and his raven black hair was held back perfectly.  
He was the most intimidating person Kori had ever seen an it didn't help matters that he was glaring at them both.

"I got a call saying there an accident and when I arrive I hear you friend asking why you lied to the police. So an explanation is in order. Now!"

"Hey Bruce, we're fine, thanks for your concern. This is Kori by the way" Dick answered flatly, glaring right back.

The lines in his face hardened.

"What didn't you tell the police?" he grit out.

"Something was up and I wanted to figure it out. I thought the police would only get in the way " Dick answered.

Bruce opened his mouth to say something when a Doctor MacClenny approached them.  
He spoke quietly with Bruce and after answering equally hushed questions, he walked away.  
Bruce turned to them.

"Alfred's going to be fine. They've put stitches on his forehead and he's under a general Anaesthesia. He'll be out for the night but he'll be good to come home tomorrow morning.  
I'll swing by early and collect him myself. Tempted as I am to leave you, both of you head out to the car. I'll be there in a minute"

Dick looked like he was about to argue but Kori pushed him forward away from an impending argument.

"He scares me" Kori admitted once they were in the safety of the car park.

"Nah, not once you get used to him. You just have to learn how to handle him" Dick replied casually making a Bee line for the gleaming black Mercedes Benz.

Kori shot him a sceptical look

"His bark is worse than his bite" Dick insisted.

"Not true. My bite is worse" the smooth voice of Mr. Wayne stated as the man in question strode to the car and pulled out a set of keys.

Dick opened the door of the car once it was unlocked and ushered Kori in and climbed in after her.  
The trip was silent; Kori hung her head, lifting her eyes slightly to look in the direction of Bruce but never dared to say a word.  
Something suddenly struck her and she looked at Dick and whispered something to him.  
Dick sighed.

"Hey Bruce, can we stop by North main street? Kori wants to pick up some stuff from her flat?"

Bruce didn't say anything but drove the car down the street and Kori whispered to Dick again.  
Dick shot her an annoyed look.

"Stop here"

The car pulled to stop and the girl scrambled out of the car.  
Dick followed but stopped for a moment and gave Bruce a look.

"I know I'm asking for a miracle here but could you try not acting like a lion about to attack a gazelle. She's terrified of you"

Bruce raised a brow.

"Looks like your gazelles decided to make a break for it" he observed.

Dick looked over and swore under his breath.  
Bruce watched, mildly amused as he chased after the girl who had just gone into a dingy three story apartment block.  
After a few minutes they both exited the building, Kori had a pink backpack thrown over her shoulders. She whispered a quick 'thank you' to Bruce and they were on the road again.

On the way back to the manor, Bruce asked Kori questions.  
Dick knew it was his way of trying to converse with her and it was just his nature to snap out questions so much that it sounded like an interrogation.  
None of the questions were too personal or too closely linked with the past so Kori answered them easily enough.

They were back at the manor in good time.  
Kori stared at the mansion like they had just entered the twilight zone.

"You gonna stare at it for the rest of the day?" Dick teased.

"Lani" she breathed.

"I will turn on the sprinklers if I don't see movement back there" Bruce warned

With this in mind, Dick grabbed Kori's wrist and dragged her towards the entrance of the manor.  
Once they were both inside, Bruce turned to them and gave them both a stern look.

"I have business to attend to. No acrobatics! Understand?"

"Yes"

Bruce turned towards Kori.

"We'll talk later"

It was only once they heard the car pulling away did they leave out a sigh of relief.

"Guess we find you place to crash "Dick shrugged.

"Second room on the left" Kori answered.

"Wow, you're choosy" Dick observed.

Kori ginned sheepishly and pointed at a note left on a small antique table which stated which room she should be in.

It was Dick's turn to be embarrassed as he led to the room.  
Kori gasped as she looked at the room decorated with pastel colours and beech wood furniture.  
She bounded over to bed and leapt on it with a childish giggle.

"So you want a tour of the rest of the house?" he asked, looking around the room, impressed.

"Perhaps later. I'm just going to go to sleep for a little bit" Kori's voice was fading fast and she finished her statement with a loud yawn.  
Pulling off her shoes and bag, she snuggled into her bed, nuzzling her face into the pillow.

"Couldn't sleep, weird dreams" she murmured before she sank into a deep slumber.

Dick smiled at her affectionately and left to read that file Bruce had compiled for him.

The next day, Dick woke up and trudged towards the shower.  
He never was a morning person.  
The shower woke him up a bit and he headed for the kitchen with a towel wrapped around his waist.

He saw Alfred pottering about the dining room.

"How you feeling, Alfred?" he asked, pleased to see the older man back on his feet.

"Quite well, sir"

Dick ambled into the kitchen and began rummaging through the fridge. He heard the door swing open and assumed it was Alfred so he didn't turn around.  
A high pitched squeak told him that it wasn't Alfred.

Kori was standing at the door fully dressed, with her hand over her eyes and a red blush that had settled over her skin.

"It might be prudent, young master to dress appropriately in the presence of young ladies" Alfred scolded gently.

Dick grinned sheepishly at them both and ran out of the room.  
He returned, dressed ten minutes later.  
Kori was waiting for him with a big basket.

"You want to go to a football game today?" she asked with a relieved smile.

"You like football?" Dick asked sceptically.

Kori shook her head.

Not at all, it's very confusing and I do not like those men in the stands who wear very little clothes and cover their stomachs and faces in paint"

"Nor I, miss" Alfred added.

"But Victor has a very important game and I thought it would be nice to offer him our support and he would be even more pleased if we brought with us his favourite foods" she finished, holding up her basket as evidence.

"Um sure, if you want"

Kori grinned like the Cheshire cat and skipped out of the room, basket in hand.

"I trust you read the information master Bruce. provided?" Alfred asked quietly.

Dick nodded and then left to follow Kori.

"LOOKS LIKE THIS COULD BE IT FOLKS. THIRTY SECONDS LEFT AND THE LIONS STAR PLAYER; STONE IS TEARING UP THE PITCH, LOOKING FOR A TOUCHDOWN! WILL HE MAKE IT? OHH HE FAKES LEFT THEN GOES RIGHT AND HE'S MADE IT FOLDS. THE LIONS WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP" en excitable commentator roared over his microphone.

The crowd roared their approval and Victor stone threw the ball to the ground and did a victory dance.  
He flexed his muscles for the audience when he stopped and stared at something.  
Two people cheering the back of the bleachers.  
He grinned at once and waved them down.

They waved back and disappeared into the crowd before emerging again at the railings.  
One of them climbed over the railings and jumped down, landing nimbly on his feet and the other lowered down a basket first and then lowered herself down 

"You were incredible" Dick complimented.

"Thanks man. I was in the zone, you know" Victor was cut off by Kori giving him the biggest bear hug she could muster.

"Hey there, fly girl" he greeted hugging her back.

"We are so proud of you" she gushed.

"Your parents around? They probably want to congratulate the star player of the game" Dick said with a grin which faded when he saw Victor's face.

"They're not sports kind of people"

"You have friends who bring you tasty food" Kori cheered, trying to lighten the mood.

The ground shook suddenly.  
It shook again and continued shaking; the periods between the shaking became shorter and shorter.

"Y'all see that?" Victor asked, pointing at the wall which was shaking violently.

It shook again and then burst open.  
There was a huge figure hiding in the shadows.  
It took a step out and light shed on it.  
It was the form a huge man made of stone.  
The stone creature took a look around and saw the three teens and with a roar of anger, he charged at them.

To be continued. 


	5. chapter 5

Hey I'm really sorry about the delay. Things have been kind of crazy at the moment. I've actually had this chapter written in a notebook but I haven't gotten around to typing it.  
Well please read and review Enjoy 

Sometimes all it can take is one word to cast everything into disarray.  
One action can cause a chain of effects and one action can be the only solution to the a catastrophe.  
In this case, it was the one word that snapped three teens of their fear induced stupor.

"RUN!"

As if only waiting for that cue, the three snapped back to reality and they dashed up the pitch as if their lives depended on it (which was a distinct possibility)

"Split up!"

"Stay together!" the two boys barked out their orders in unison.

Kori looked at both boys with a panicked expression.

"Which one?"

"Split up" Victor yelled again as Dick shouted out to stay together.

Kori gave them both desperate looks.

"That won't work" they shouted in unison, at each other.

"Stop fighting" Kori screamed at them, annoyed that they decided it was the best time to have an argument.

Dick's light blue eyes darted around the area, trying to find something that could potentially help them.

His gaze settled on the floodlights and he smirked as he came up with a plan. Meanwhile Victor was doing the same thing, only his gaze had rested on a hose that led into the wall.

"Distract him" both boys yelled out at the same time before running off in opposite directions.

They were both so engrossed in their plans they didn't hear each other or Kori who was shouting to them as they left her in the middle of the pitch.  
She watched them go, stunned by their actions until she was snapped back to reality by a furious roar

Dick was heading straight for the floodlights.  
He stopped at the foot of the poles and stared upwards.  
Grabbing a nearby wrench, he grabbed hold of the pole and began pulling himself up the pole with great speed and poise.  
Bruce never said anything about acrobatics out of the house, he thought wryly.

Victor on the other hand had grabbed the hose and was pumping vast amounts of water over the muddiest part of the pitch, the blades of grass were quickly sinking under the murky brown water that was spreading over the area.

An ear-splitting scream sliced through the air, grabbing everyone's attention and drawing it to the centre of the pitch.

Kori screamed when she felt something rough and heavy wrap around her leg.  
She let out a cry of pain as the massive stone hand pulled her leg out from under her,  
upending her and slammed to the ground unmercifully.

A wave of dizziness washed over her as she recovered from the hit and was helpless as he dragged her towards him, hoisting her up in front of him by her upper arms.  
The fogginess in her head cleared as she was face to face with this monster and she screamed again, struggling.

Dick and Victor both watched as the monster started running off in the direction of the hole he had made with their friend trapped in his embrace.

They caught each others looks and there was a silent agreement made that they would argue about their struggle for leadership after they were all safe and sound away form this monster.

Dick continued his climb , slipping a little bit before reaching out his hand to steady himself.  
That's when he felt it; he knocked on the heavy metal and smirked as he tested the other areas.  
Dick found the weak spot.  
He started hammering away at the spot with the wrench denting the metal slightly.  
Dick cast a fleeting glance towards the monster, he was nearly at the hole but seemed temporarily distracted by Kori who was struggling like a kitten in child's uncertain hands.

Hammering faster and applying more pressure when he heard the tell tale creak. Victor heard it too and looked panicked as he saw what his friend was attempting to do.

"He's gonna get himself killed" he heard some spectators cry as they too watched the teen on the pole attacking it with a wrench.

"Not on my watch" Victor snapped and ran towards the pole, as if he could catch him when he fell.

Dick continued hammering away until the creak worsened and the pole shifted suddenly.  
Unfazed by this, he hammered again, tightening his grip on the pole.

It creaked a couple more times and shifted down once more before the pole gave an almighty lurch and swung down.  
Dick was scared, he had to admit that much but he also loved the adrenaline of it.  
This was what he was all about; he could resist a whoop of joy as the pole was flying towards the ground.  
Timing it perfectly, he sprang off before it hit the ground.

His landing however was not as graceful and he landed on his elbows.  
Without the additional weight, the pole stopped mere inches above the ground.

Victor rushed over to him to see if he was OK and matched Dick smirk with an impressed grin of his own.

"Get Rocky back here and I'll get the lights going" he nodded.

Dick nodded and raced down the pitch, once again impressing Victor.  
Once he was a reasonable distance behind the monster, he grabbed a nearby rock and hurled it towards the back of the monsters head.

It served its purpose and the monster spun around with another roar.  
Dick saw Kori still struggling and he was relieved to see she was OK, well as OK as anyone could be in her situation.

The monster charged at him and without a second thought Dick turned on his heel and sprinted back towards the lights where Victor was still messing with the electric's of the lights. Dick stopped when he had no where else to run and just waited.  
He was getting worried, he never did have any patience.  
Just as the creature was about to grab him Victor roared out "NOW!"

Dick ducked out of the way and the monster was blinded instantly by the sheer light.  
Frantic and disoriented, he turned and ran.

"He's running in the wrong direction" Victor shouted out when they saw him veering off towards the left instead of straight forward where the mud lay in wait.

"C'mon!" Dick ran after the creature with Victor in tow.

They overtook him and began shouting at him and taunting him.  
Still dizzy from the sudden blast of lights, he could only follow the sound of their voices and thundered towards them, running straight for the muck.  
As soon as he touched the mud he lost control

Kori seeing what was happening, struggling ever more and proved too much distraction for the creature who let go for a second.  
She scrambled off him as he flailed his arms around trying to regain balance.  
She landed in the mud with a painful squelch.  
She winced from the pain but sat up to watch.

The creature had lost all balance and was sent sliding into the wall.  
The sound of the crash bounced off the walls of the stadium, and then silence reached.  
No one dared move for a few moments,

The monster was buried under a pile of rubble and after a few minutes of careful watching,  
it didn't appear that he would be getting back up.

Dick and Victor skidded into the mud, and came to a stop next to Kori who was rubbing her arms.

"You OK?" Dick asked gently.

She looked up at him and nodded mutely with a weak grin.  
They were covered in muck, bruised and looked like crud but they were fine.

Dick got to his feet first and then Victor and they both offered Kori a hand up although she seemed happier sitting in the mud.

A low growl sounded out but before they could react, the stone monster had burst through the debris, sending it flying everywhere and effectively knocking the two boys off their feet.

Too stunned to move, the three teens sat in the mud as he once again charged at them.

Suddenly at least eight ropes flew towards him and wrapped themselves around his massive form.

He let out a roar just as blue bolts of electricity started dancing around the ropes causing him to cry out in pain and sink to the ground unconscious.

Shaken, the teenagers turned around and saw special agents in their white helmets with black visors and black body suits.

There was a row of these men behind them each with identical guns, the same guns that had shot the ropes.

Talking in a code, the agents surrounded the monster.

One of them, the captain, stopped in front of Dick who rose to his feet carefully.

"You kids OK?"

Their only responses were three nods.

"Go get yourselves checked out by the medics. You did good work today, I'm impressed"

Kori and Victor both followed his advice and made their way towards the ambulance.  
Dick was set to follow them when he heard one of the agents talking to the captain.

"Checked out the eyewitness reports, sir! Everyone we've talked to says the same thing,  
that pile of walking rubble burst in here and hunted those kids. By all accounts, it looks like he burst in here just to grab em'"

Dick felt very unsettled by this piece of news and silently followed his friends.

Twenty minutes later, some oft excitement had died down.  
An armoured van showed up to cart the stone monster which they learned was called Cinderblock to a correctional facility.

Dick, Kori and Victor were sitting on a bench with a blanket thrown over each of them,  
wearing bandages.

"Hey guys?" Victor began.

"Yeah?" the other two answered in unison.

"Next time y'all decide to come and cheer me on, don't. Or if you gotta, cheer on the other team?" he joked causing Kori to giggle slightly and Dick to snort.

Kori rested her head on Dick's shoulder.  
She felt him stiffen and raised her head quizzically and let out a gasp once she saw what he did.  
Victor followed their line of vision and his eyes widened.

Standing before them was Bruce Wayne, dress immaculately and he didn't look at all pleased with this turn of events.

To be continued


	6. chapter 6

Hiya, I don't own the characters but I do own the story.

No ones hurt?" Bruce's voice was smooth with underlying steel.

The three teens shook their heads in reply.

Burce raked a hand through his ebony hair, somehow not managing to move a hair from its place.  
He followed this with a sigh and cast a glance around them, resting on some of the police who had saved them earlier.

"Go to the car, Alfred's waiting" was his abrupt order as he walked away from them and towards the police.

Dick looked like he might disobey was tugged along by the other two. It wasn't hard to spot their ride.  
It was the only sleek black Mercedes Benz with a dignified looking butler standing at the side patiently.

Vic shot Dick a disbelieving look but judging by the look on the smaller boys face, hedecided it was probably better not to question.

"Hello Master Dick, Miss Kori." Alfred looked at Vic expectantly.

"I do not believe I have had your acquaintance"

Vic stared at him, confused before it clicked and he laughed sheepishly.

"Sorry man, I'm Vic"

"Ah yes, a pleasure to meet you, young Victor"

There was an awkward silence.

"Well, young masters and young miss. Would you like to be seated. Once we return to the manor, you can clean yourselves up.

"I gotta call my parents" Vic stated.

"As you shall once we return to Wayne Manor but I believe it would be unwise to wait here"

With that Alfred, opened the back doors and nodded at it.

Dick headed for the car and climbed in, Kori followed after and after giving the butler a weird look, Vic slipped in too.  
The door clicked close after them.

"Are we in trouble?" Kori asked tentatively

"Looks that way"

"He has no right to be, we were just defending ourselves

Before the other two could say something, the front door opened and Bruce stepped into the car, it was like his presence filled the car with an intimidating tense air.

Alred seated himself in the driver side and soon the engine has revved up and they were on the road.

Bruce adjusted his tie slightly.  
His broad shoulders were tense . Finally he spoke, as he pressed his thumb to the bride of his nose and massaged his temples.

"What happened?" his voice came out in a low menacing growl.

"That stone thing attacked us!"

"So you decided to act the big heroes and take him down"

"Well we tried the diplomatic approach but he had no sense of compromise and he had the nerve not to wait for the proper authorities to arrive and detain him" Dick shot back fiercely.

"You should have just run"

" We did, he caught up"

Kori and Vic were shrinking back into the leather apolostery trying to make themselves invisible.

"You could have been killed! This isn't some school yard bully who only needs someone to stand up to him."

"We did run and he chased us. Didn't you hear those guys, that ..thing was after us nothing else"

Dick could feel Kori sit up straighter as he said this.  
Kori and Vic exchanged worried glances.  
This was news to them.

"We'll discuss this at home"

"Fine by me!"

The car was silent on the trip back. It was relief when they were able to scramble out of the car.  
Alfred was showing the other two to the bathrooms when Bruce pulled Dick aside into his office.

"What aren't you telling me about this?"

Dick knew he couldn't his suspicions and he wanted help so he pulled out the small orange and black disc that he suspected caused the while thing.

"When we were bringing Kori home, we crashed and there was some guy in the smoke. He was talking about how its starting soon and how we was expecting things from us. He left this behind" Dick held out the disc for his guardians inspection.

Bruce took it from him and studied it.

"And today we were there cheering for Vic and this monster charged at us. He was heading off with Kori but I think that was because we split up and she the only one left on the field. I think it has something to do with that, I keep getting a weird feeling when I meet these people and then when we're all together we get attacked."

"OK supposing your paranoia isn't unfounded, it would probably be better to keep this people safe and together. Vic will be staying here as well. Call him in when you find him"

Dick bit back a sarcastic reply and left unsure if he felt better or worse about sharing that information.  
Bruce sat at his desk and began sorting through paper work ,stopping to give Dick a questioning look.

Seeing as this conversation wasn't going to continue, Dick left in search of his friends.  
Vic was walking down the halls with a towel thrown around his shoulders, looking clean.

"That was fast " Dick observed falling in step with him

"Yeah no hair to wash" he grinned pointing at his bald head." Kori, on the other hand might take a while"

"Oh yeah, Bruce wants to talk to you about staying here for a bit"

Dick led Vic to the office and stood outside the door waiting for Vic.

After about fifteen minutes, Alfred strolled up to the door with two adults in two, who Dick assumed were Vic's parents.

Inside the room Dick was pleading the importance of his football scholarship while Bruce listened patiently.

Alfred knocked on the door gently.

"Mr. and Mrs. Stone are here to you see, sir" he informed them in his dignified tone.

"Pops, Mom?" Vic asked in disbelief staring at the couple standing at the door.

Dick watched when he heard a soft voice in his ear.

"What's going on?" Kori whispered, walking up behind Dick, raking damp strands of hair away from her face.

"Parents "

"Please sit down, Vic I'd appreciate it if you waited outside for this"

Vic didn't look at all happy at the notion of leaving his parents alone with Bruce but he left, reluctantly.

The door closed after him, leaving him standing with Kori and Dick.

"Man whattya' think they're gonna say?" Vic asked, staring at the door willing himself to be see through it.

The other two shrugged when Dick smirked.

"We could just stay here, having our own conversation"

Vic smirked right back at him.

"And if we happened to hear their conversation, why that would be just terrible"

"You want us to eavesdrop?" Kori asked in horror

"No no no…ok yeah"

"That's terrible"

"C'mon on Kori. They're talking about my future, I need to hear this"

"You don't want them to say something awful about Vic without us being able to defend him"

Kori gasped and looked at them with a worried expression.

"So we cool?"

Kori nodded and sat down beside the door, ;leaning against the wall.  
Dick sat next to her and Vic leant against the wall trying to look casual, they were perfectly silent trying to catch snippets of the conversation.

Somewhere along the line, Alfred had placed a tray of cookies beside them and they nibbled on the cookies quietly.

The conversation swung from the value of education to the foolishness of youth.  
As it seemed Vic's parents didn't approve of football but they did approve of the scholarship because of the opportunity it might provide. and as such they didn't love the idea of him missing out on his two week training with the Gotham City knights They hated the idea that their son might be in danger.

Bruce for his part had assured them that it was merely a precaution and it would be easier for Vic if he stayed at the manor during his training.  
What with his charming tone and having the art of negotiation down to a tee, Vic's parents soon agreed that they had to do right by their soon and this seemed to be the right thing to do.

The door of the office opened and Dick and Kori looked up to see Vic's parents staring down at them.

His mother hugged him tightly, ordering him to tell them if anything bad happened and his father gave him a brief hug and a pat on the back.

"Take care of yourself baby, we'll see you in a fortnight" his mother gushed while his father turned his attention to the other two.

"Weren't you that girl who worked for a horrible boss and refused to leave?" his father asked, looking at Kori sharply.

Kori grinned nervously.

"Yeah that was me" she replied, scratching the back of her head.

"Glad to see someone got you out then"

Kori shot Dick a shy smile.

"Me too"

"Take good care of my boy" Vics father warned Bruce in good nature.

"Bye baby" his mom planted one more kiss on her sons cheek before her husband practically dragged her away from them and towards the car.

They thanked Bruce once they were out of earshot of the teens and bundled into their car, taking off out the gate.

Bruce walked past them.

"Show your friend to a room" he ordered calmly, disappearing inside his office.

"Welcome to the manor" Dick said ruefully.

The next morning, Kori was pottering about the kitchen despite being ushered out of the room many times by Alred and the boys were sprawled out on the sofa watching the TV.

Dick got up to grab something form the fridge when Vic's shout alerted him.

"Hey Dick, Kori. You GOTTA see this"

They both ran over to where their friend was seated and watched the TV screen showing the news.

"The opening of Gotham's new zoo has been thrown into disarray by one young protester" the blonde reported spoke with a chipper voice, as if this was the cutest thing in the world.

The camera swung to a young boy no older than themselves with blonde spiky hair with streaks of green running through it and forest green eyes, who had chained himself to the front gates and was shouting something out waving a picket sign at the crowd gathered around him..

To be continued.

Hi I'm actually going to try and write decent authors notes for a change, I've been meaning to and now I have so yay.  
OK first off ,sorry if I don't have the characters right but that's the way its going so...yeah.

Also I know the action scene was off but I've never written an action scene before, well not really and I thought it would be good if it was kinda messy. Maybe they'll get better at it, the longer I write this.

I'm really sorry about the delay as well, very busy couple of weeks.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, you made me all giggly and please continue with the reviewing. I like it very much

Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter.  
Lots of love

Nibbs


	7. chapter 7

Oh so very, very many apologies about the delay with this chapter.Things have been so crazy I started work a couple of weeks ago and I have a lot of workto do for my course and then I got sick cause naturally, if I need to be healthy for a while,I'll get sick I'm kay now. Yay!

And I won't lie to you, I was putting off this chapter cause it has an action scene in it and  
I find action scenes really hard to write and this one was really driving me nuts because  
There's a certain amount of physics and I have little or no grasp of physics.  
Never been a very scientific logical person.

On that note please forgive the appalling physics in this chapter.  
Some of it made up and some of it is real but given the circumstances…of course if you're  
willing to accept that five teenagers can have all those different powers, I really don't see  
my physics being so very out there but if they are, sorry.

Also while I'm writing what seems to be a book of authors notes, someone made a very  
good observation.  
They said it was like I wasn't sure whether it was Starfire or Kori I was writing which is a valid point. I'm having trouble distinguishing the two, see I'm trying to balance it so that  
she doesn't have greatest grasp because she's foreign but she's been living in the country  
for a few years so she would have a fair idea of the language and culture and sometimes she even sounds old fashioned because she is kind of old fashioned.  
But rest assured I am working on this and trying to find ways around said problem.  
And one of my first reviewers said I should try to work on friendships more which I have  
been trying and I think its paying off well so thanks for these reviews

And of course thanks so, so, so much to everyone who's reviewed.  
It's weird this story is doing so much better than I thought it would and I want to say  
thanks for your time and interest and being so nice and patient.

Of course the characters aren't mine but the story is.  
If you want to contact me you know how and if you don't, then there's your challenge  
Please read and review  
Enjoy!

Man that's one weird little nutball" Victor said before he let out a boisterous laugh.

Kori, Victor and Dick were sitting on the sofa the plush sofa, eyes glued to the large  
screen TV.  
Kori was curled up on the sofa, Victor was leaning back sinking into it but Dick was  
tense, sitting on the edge of his seat  
The reporter on the news continued to make her 'witty' puns about the teen protester who had chained himself to the gates of the new zoo.

"Come on" Dick ordered, rising to his feet and heading for the door.

Kori turned around and leaned on the back of the sofa looking at Dick.   
Victor turned around and rested a muscular arm along the back of the sofa.  
They were both staring at him, completely confused.

"Say what?" Victor asked, looking stumped.

"Grab your coats, we're leaving" Dick elaborated, looking annoyed at having the explain  
himself.

"We had no coats and…" Kori pointed out.

"Why?" the two sofa dwellers asked.

"I've got a feeling" Dick answered, reddening at his own response.

"Dick got that lurving feeling, he's got that lurving' feeling" Victor sang jokingly and  
burst out laughing at his antics.

Kori watched Victor roll about the sofa in laughter and then fall off accidentally before she turned to Dick, unfazed by the little scene.

"Feeling?"

"Yeah there's nothing important about him" Dick tried to explain.

Victor, who was now standing, sobered up.

"Ain't nothing important about a lil screwball who chained himself to the gates of a zoo,  
psychotic maybe but not important" he objected.

"This feeling, is it like the one you got from Victor and I?" Kori asked.

"You better not have the same feelings for me as you do for her" Victor warned.

Dick shot him a murderous glare but Kori seemed to have taken no notice of the  
exchange.

"Yeah so we have…"

"Hold up man, you are aware, this feelin' you got about 'important' people you got from  
us, and we happened to be the last two people you met. The selection process isn't  
exactly selective" Victor said, folded his arms across his chest and gave Dick a  
challenging stare.

Kori looked at him expectantly and even he had to admit that Victor had a point.

"You think it's a coincidence that I met the two of you one after the other. Last two times I got this vibe from people, we got attacked. Either we get to that kid first or something dangerous will"

Kori nodded and followed Dick out the door; Victor groaned but followed her anyway.

"You guys got attacked?" he asked once they were outside

"Yeah but that's not important right now" Dick replied distractedly.

"Man you have a messed definition of the word, you know that?"

"How will we get there, Alfred are has gone to run some errands and Mr. Wayne is  
elsewhere?"

"We could drive"

"I only have a license for driving a bike"

"You could drive on your bike and carry someone else and the third person could stay  
here " Kori suggested.

"No, same problem"

Victor planted a large hand on both of their shoulders and turned them towards him.

"Listen up, kids cause school is in session"

"How long have you had your license?" Dick asked, trying to keep his voice steady as the red convertible swerved around a corner on the road.

"A couple of months now, "Victor replied with a grin." How you doing back there, girl?"

"My head is still attached to my body which is reassuring"

Even with the seatbelt, Kori was still getting thrown about in the backseat, more so than  
the guys in the front.

"Almost there" Victor stated as they skidded around another turn.

A sleek red convertible pulled into a stop right outside the zoo.  
Victor hopped out of the car while the other stumbled out, clinging to the door of the car  
for dear life.

"Smooth ride, huh?" Victor asked.

Dick shook off his momentary shock and directed his attention to the crowd standing  
outside the gates.

"We have to get through them" he observed.

"Man, I'm the star of my football team, this ain't nothing compared to some of the teams  
we went up against. Follow my lead"

With that, Victor started pushing his way through the crowd.  
He managed to clear space for himself and the other two stuck right behind him taking  
advantage of the gap he created.  
Before long they were in the front of the crowd.

Dick walked towards one of the police and muttered something to him,  
The police gave him an uncertain look but nodded.

"How long are you planning on staying here?" Dick asked the youth chained to the gate.

The boy raised his deep green eyes and gave him a mischievous grin.

"Till they hear me out, or some babes on mopeds show up"

"Dude, your causing a bucket load of trouble, you might want to take it seriously"

"I am totally taking this seriously...sweet" his eyes fell on Kori. "You guys brought a hot  
chick. Protests always get way more attention when there's a hot chick involved."

Kori shrugged and sat down next to the boy.

"I'm Kori; please don't call me "hot chick'"

"I'm Gar but you can call me hunk of burning love"

Dick pulled Kori up by the arm.

"We're not here in join in the protest!"

"We're not?" she asked curiously.

Dick shot her stern look.

"We're not" she informed Gar.

"Then why are you here?" Gar asked suspiciously.

Kori and Victor both looked at Dick.

"We'll let you handle that one"

"Because we think you may be in danger" Dick replied.

"Dude, your hair gel must have soaked into your head and encased your brain cause your just nuts"

"Heh pot calling the kettle...in this case green" Victor noted.

"I mean, seriously dude who goes around telling people they're in danger...is the  
Boogieman out to get me?" Gar started laughing at his own joke but was cut off.

The crowd's attention was diverted from the protest when the lamps that lined the walls  
of the zoo suddenly lit up one by one in a row.

The lamps lit up again, almost blinding when they shattered, causing a few screams.  
There was an eerie blue glow form the shattered lights that quickly turned into sparks that disappeared through the lamp bases.

Gar fumbled for his key and hastily managed to unlock himself and scrambled away.  
He moved next to the three teens who were staring at the strange light show.

The blue sparks circled the lamps and disappeared underground when the grid wassurrounded by blue and there was a blinding flash.

Standing before them was a large humanoid shape made entirely of blue electricity, bolts  
of electricity danced along 'veins' in its body and a computer chip rested on his body. It  
let out a roar and within an instant the area was thrown into chaos.  
The only ones not moving were Dick, Kori, Victor and Gar.

Dick threw Gar a look.

"In case you didn't know, that's his 'I told you so' look "Victor leaned in to tell Gar.

The electric monster vanished inside a control panel and a row of doors opened, doors  
that led to the animals dens.

"That ain't good!"

"Ok ok electricity, electricity...we need to find a way to ground him" Dick began, shaking his head trying to come up with a solution to the problem.

"Friends, we may need act fast on this" Kori cried out pointing at the blue glow travelling  
along the wires towards them.

"Ok, lets go" Dick shouted, grabbing Kori's wrist and pushing Gar at the same time,  
running into the zoo.

"What now leader boy?" Gar shouted as they ran.

"Rubber doesn't conduct electricity, maybe we could try that"

Dick skidded to a stop; they were right outside the caretakers shed.  
The blue monster was following them and hoping for the best they charged into the hut  
This was made of thick plastic.

"Quickly throw on the boots and gloves"

"Dude these so don't go with my colouring" Gar whined as they pulled the boots on.

Everyone shot him a glare.

"What? Not the time for a joke huh?"

The lights inside the small room shattered and he group piled out the door as fast as they  
could.

The monster was taking special care not to touch the ground and was appearing and  
vanishing from one wire to the next.

"We need something rubber and we need it now"

Gar and Victor both chuckled and exchanged smirks.

"Not now!"

"The Marquee is rubber, isn't it?" Kori asked suddenly.

The boys exchanged looks.

"She's right"

"But how do we get that thing to the marquee. I don't think we can lure it there ourselves  
again?"

Gar slapped his forehead, almost as if he was trying to shake an idea out when a shadow  
was cast on the ground.  
Glancing up he saw it was an eagle swooping overhead.  
That's when something clicked and an idea formed into his head.

"Get to the marquee" he cried out.

The others looked at him and nodded.  
Kori grabbed a mop and ran after the others who were already heading for the marquee.  
They reached the brightly coloured tent and saw that it was supported by poles.  
The poles held it up in a circular shape and a large pole in the middle provided the  
height.

"Well what now?"

"That things following us"

Without warning, Gar started squawking and cawing, even flapping his arms to match his  
sounds.

"Dude what the.. Oh man that's a lot of birds!"

It was true; flocks of birds had gathered after hearing the calls and were flying towards  
them, as they were flying they were catching the monster between them and almost  
dragging him towards them.

"Birds are airborne, he can't hurt them" Dick realised.

One bird even seemed to fly through him.

"Come on, get these beams down" Victor yelled, scattered the two boys and the girl, they each ran to a different beam and found a way to unearth it, causing it to fall until they were left with the last pole in the middle.

It was then the boys noticed Kori's mop.

"You were planning on cleaning up after this guy or something?" Victor asked.

Kori looked surprised and then grinned.  
She dropped the mop and placed her foot over the mop part and then pulled up on the  
handle, snapping the mop, leaving a plastic stick with a jagged end where the mop head  
had been.  
Grinning she handed the broken mop to Dick.

"Here he comes" Gar warned as the birds flew past, what was left remaining of the  
marquee shook as they did.

The group noticed the familiar blue glow surrounding the laps beam and the monster  
materialized, clutching onto the metal beams.

"Get out of here" Dick hissed at the others who stood rooted to the spot

This time it was the other three who shot him a glare.

"Fine!" he snapped, wedging the plastic rod between the beam and the ground and prying  
the pole out, toppling to the ground with the monster.  
The last they heard was a roar of defeat and then a deathly silence.

Just as quickly as it had started, it had ended.  
They didn't move for a few moments, completely covered by a rubber blanket.

"You guys are alive too, right?" Gars uncertain voice rang out.

"I still got everything in the right places" Victor replied.

Sitting up they made their way out of the tent and let out a collective sigh of relief once  
they were all out safe and sound.

"Um friends...we have an audience" Kori said in a voice barely above a whisper.

They turned around slowly and saw a huge crowd outside the gates of the zoo staring  
at them dumbfounded.

"Great show huh?" Victor yelled out

Gar laughed and began blowing kisses and soon they were met with a deafening  
applause.

The zoo keepers had rounded up the animals and while the zoo had taken a hit, no one  
was any worse for wear.

Kori laughed and threw her arms around Gar.

"You saved us, you strange king of the animals" she shrieked.

"Just call me Tarzan" he grinned back when Victor picked them both up in a bear hug.

"And we live and fight another day" he cheered.

Dick was the only one who didn't seem to be celebrating; instead he was staring down at  
the fallen marquee with a trouble expression.

"You handled that broken mop quite well" a gently voice complimented.

He looked up and saw Kori watching him intently.

"Heh, maybe I'll take up Judo" he grinned playing around with the rod, spinning it in his  
hands.

He seemed to have a flair for it.  
Kori watched him and then gave him a hug, burying her face in his neck.

Pulling back she gave him a shy smile and walked away, tossing him a little smile  
over her shoulder.

Casting one more thoughtful look over his shoulder, he dropped the plastic handle and  
followed her.  
Gar and Victor were standing in front of Alfred, going every detail of the fight with him.  
Nothing ever seemed to surprise him and this was no different.  
He merely nodded at the other two once they had arrived.

"I should think it in our best interests to leave now" he informed them and led them to the  
Limo waiting.

They did their best ignoring the reporters and cameras flashing at them as they left and  
managed to make it to the car in one piece.

Once there were safe distance away from the library, Kori, Dick and Victor slumped  
into the back of the seats.  
Gar however was rooting through the mini - fridge.

"No tofu?"

To be continued.

Well there you go, make of that what you will.  
Please read and review.

Nibbs


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own the characters but I do own the story.  
Really sorry about the delay but I promise I'm going to finish it .  
Enjoy 

"So what now?" Gar asked.

"Perhaps we should try to talk to them?" Kori suggested.

Gar and Vic gawked at her,

"OK and after that, I'll find us some paper bags so we can line up on the street and shout about the end of the world at people who pass by" Gar ranted.

The group fell silent.  
Kori and Vic stared at Gar blankly.

"There was a little too much thought put into that" Vic informed him.

Dick remained quiet during the exchange and was staring at a lone figure huddled up, in front of the pond in the park.

It was late in the night and the only light they had was the moonlight, making it impossible to tell anything about the person in the park but he was drawn to them, like he had been the other three.

It was slightly stronger this time, and he wondered if his search was coming to an end.If so, then what would happen once he had his group gathered together?  
Well there was only one way to find out, he reasoned.

Meanwhile a ferocious battle raged on.

"Man I warned you about that food! We could all be home by now, but you had to scarf a tray of weird food you couldn't identify, if you don't know what it is, YOU DON'T EAT IT" Vic fumed.

"Friends, please" Kori begged, trying to keep the peace.

"Hey I knew what it was. It was escargot!" Gar shouted back.

Vic looked at him, unimpressed and even Kori shot him an exasperated look.

"OK so maybe I didn't what the French meant...but c'mon! These people are filthy stinkin' rich and what do they do? They march around the place in their fancy tuxedoes and just slurp snails off the wall! Poor snails"

Kori and Vic both looked disgusted and startled by the vivid image Gar portrayed of rich man wandering the streets 'slurping' snails off the wall.

"You truly have a strange turn of phrase"

"Don't get me started on caviar!"

They both shuddered at how he could describe rich people eating fish eggs.

Kori turned to Dick, who was staring intently at the lone figure.

"What do you want to do?"

"I'm talking to them" was all he said, and then he scaled the fence and hopped in.

Kori sighed and followed suit and shortly afterwards the two boys were following her.  
Soon they were all standing a small distance away from the figure.  
They seemed to be wearing a large hoodie with the hood pulled up and as they had their back to the group, they still had no clue as to the person's identity.

"Hey" Dick began.

The figure didn't move at all and only the sound of a flat, dry and feminine voice allowed them any signs of the person acknowledging their presence.

"Oh joy" the girl drawled, sounding as displeased as one could, using only two words.

Kori, Vic and Gar all glared at Dick, as if blaming him for this unexpected turn.  
Dick carried on, undaunted.

"Can, we talk to you for a second?"

The girl rose to her feet, revealing her height.  
She seemed to be the same height as Dick which was taller than Gar but much shorted than Kori or Vic.  
Clad in a baggy hoodie and loose trousers, both of which were black, all they could tell was that she seemed to be a short enough girl.

"Look, I get that you've been kicked out of your prom, but there's no alcohol or parties here so you may as well just get lost" she told them crisply.

"Hey, we're not here for drinks" Vic objected.

"And we weren't at a prom" Gar added, indignantly. "We were at a charity gala..." he trailed off and turned to Kori curiously.

"Why were we at a charity gala?" he asked her and she merely shrugged in response.

"Charity, perhaps?" she offered.

"You need all the help you can get, little man" Vic teased, as Gar swatted at him.

The actual reason the four teens were at the social event had nothing to do with charity.  
Wayne Manor was now home to four teenagers.  
Try as he might to ignore their presence at home, Bruce knew that to ignore them or not explain their presence in public would be suicide.  
Who wouldn't be troubled by a billionaire playboy living with three extra teens, no explanation given for their appearance?

So to avoid any scandal, he made a show of introducing them to society.  
Bruce had sent them home around midnight while he stayed.

It was while they had all be driving home the conversation turned on escargot and once Gar had discovered its meaning, he screeched for the car to be stopped, leapt out and promptly threw up.

"We'd like you to come home with us" Kori began.

"Listen, cheerleader. I'm busy. Run along"

Dick could feel the three glares fixed on him again.

"I am not a cheerleader! I have never led a cheer in my life" Kori sulked, crossing her arms in a huff, earning an amused grin from Dick.

"Busy? You're sitting in the middle of the park in the middle of night! You're the opposite of busy...you're un-busy" Gar objected.

The girl shot him a look and the eyes almost seemed to glow in the moonlight.

"Look girl, we're trying to be nice, so get off your high horse and talk to us without insulting for us for two minutes" Vic said annoyed.

"I'm busy" she repeated.

"C'mon dude, the park will still be here in five minutes and I'm sure all your friends can wait a couple of minutes, right Stanley?" Gar turned and asked the empty space beside him.

"Wow, you're funny" The girl replied, flatly.

Dick had enough of the pointless banter.

"Look something's happening, something big. You can feel it; I know you can because we're all feeling it right now. We need to stick together"

The girl looked taken aback and for a second she looked like she was going to agree when she scoffed and turned away from them.

"I'm going home, I suggest you do too"

And with that, she walked away from them.  
No one followed her simply because they didn't know what to say to make her stay.  
Dick turned to look at others who were standing around, looking awkward and unsure.

"OK any ideas?" he asked.

Gar waved his hand around like a lunatic.

"That relates to what just happened" Dick added.

Gar's hand fell again.

"We'll think of something" Kori promised with a small smile.

"Failing that, we'll just stalk her until eventually she caves and agrees to come with us" Vic grinned.

The girl, named Rachel walked into her dark house, clicking the door silently behind her.  
Her mother rushed down the stairs.  
She made a move towards Rachel but froze and stood on the spot looking at her daughter.

"What are you doing out this late?" she demanded, large eyes filled with worry.

"Nothing, mother. I was just in the park" she replied, making her way up the stairs.

"Rachel" her mother cried, causing her to stop and look at her mother.

"Please don't walk away from me, what were you doing in the park this late?"

"Nothing"

"You don't need to keep everything to yourself, you know"

Rachel looked at her mother sadly.

"Yes I do"

That said, she went upstairs and straight into her room, shutting the door.

The following day, Rachel made her way through the park avoiding the joyful children and happy couples like they were the plague.  
She wasn't like them and everyone knew it.

She hated people, but why was she still thinking about the people she met in the park last night?  
They looked like something right out of a teen movie but they had wanted to talk to her.  
Probably the first people in a very long time who wanted to talk to her and black haired guy was right, there was something big about to happen.  
But she wasn't about to trust a bunch of strangers, annoying strangers at that.  
She'd forget about them, much like they had her.

Of course this would have been a lot easier if they weren't all gathered around the pond, an area usually only she dared to thread, having a picnic.

The short blonde one saw her first and waved at her.  
She stalked over to them where she was met with a chorus of hello's.

"What are you doing here ?" she growled.

"Ease up on the snarly voice, girl. We're here to enjoy the sunlight and Mother Nature" Vic grinned cheerily.

Kori, who was lying on her back, stretched out, dressed in a cute pair of shorts and a midriff bearing top, grinned.  
She looked to the polar opposite of Rachel who was still dressed in her black hoodie and dark jeans Even if the clothes highlight the differences, their appearances certainly did.

"I love the sunshine" Kori chirped as she rolled over on her belly.

"So they sounded as different as they looked." Rachel thought to herself.

"Why are you here?" she asked,

"You know you'd actually be kinda hot if you weren't always angry" Gar observed from his spot underneath a tall tree.

Rachel scowled when she noticed Kori was studying her.

Kori stood up and circled Rachel for a few minutes.

"Yes cheerleader. I look different to you, get over it" she snapped causing Kori to stop and give her an annoyed look.

Rachel glared right back at her until Vic stepped in.

"Alright ladies, there's none of us looking for a fight here"

"Yeah give us warning if there's going to be a cat fight, give us ten minutes to find a mud pit " Gar joked.

"I apologise, I did not mean to cause upset" Kori said, sincerely but without the usual warmth her voice usually carried.

"Whatever" Rachel said dismissively.

Dick and Vic exchanged worried glances.

"Look we're just here to get to know you" Dick began, approaching her.

"And if I don't want to get to know you?" she asked.

"Then you don't know a good thing when you see it" Gar replied instantly, flopping down to Kori who looked at Rachel with a raised eyebrow, daring her to contradict Gar.

"I'm Rachel" she admitted reluctantly, crossing her arms.

"Please to meet you Rachel. I'm Dick" Dick held his hand out to shake which only earned him a contemptuous look.

"Hey there lil' lady, I'm Vic" Vic slapped her on the back, knocking her forward a few steps.

"My names Gar but you can me hunk"

"You can call him Gar and that there's Kori" Vic interrupted.

The whole group lapsed into an awkward silence.  
Their planning only took them as far as getting the strange loner to tell them her name.  
Beyond this, it was anyone's guess.

"So what now?" Gar asked suddenly.

"Is it really this hard for you to be quiet for a few minutes, really?" Dick asked, half amused and half sceptical.

"Never was a fan of silent comedy" Gar replied instantly.

A small giggle, small enough to be mistaken for a hiccup, silenced the group.  
Everyone stared at Rachel as if she grew a second head.

"See dudes, I told you she'd be hot" Gar crowed triumphantly.

Rachel blushed slightly and turned her head away.

She wasn't usually Gar's type but she vaguely reminded him of the moon.  
Her skin was so pale and so smooth and it always looked like it had an eerie glow.  
Her face was flawless as far as he could tell; she had a small but full pair of lips which liked the rest of her seemed dark, darker than the usual rose pink lips.

She had a large pair of doe eyes of a beautiful shade of amethyst and should length black glossy dark hair which framed her bewitching face, streaks of purple ran through her hair.  
She was slightly taller than him and looked utterly lost in her jumper and jeans.

"So we a club now or something?' Vic asked, distracting Gar from his shy study of Rachel.

Rachel was about to say something particularly nasty when the sound of ringing cut her off.

Dick looked puzzled as he fished his small black mobile phone out from his pocket.  
His expression grew more confused as he looked at the screen.

The group gathered around now.

"Hello?"

"My, my Dick, you have been busy" a smooth voice drawled.

Dick's eyes narrowed and Kori who had been standing next to him drew away with a gasp.

"Do send my regards to dear Kori"

"Who are you?" Dick demanded.

There was no reply.

"What do you want us for?"

"Oh a great many things but for now, I only want one thing"

"If you think we're going to do ANYTHING for you, you are…"

"Be at the Gotham train station at three o clock tomorrow. You'll find all the answers you're looking for, and if you do not attend, well I'll have to find you again, won't I?"

Kori shook her head at him, as if telling Dick they couldn't meet him like that again.

"And what if"

"Bring all your friends Dick, or I may have to bring them all myself"

"Wait!"

The phone line went dead.  
In a fit of rage, Dick flung his phone at a tree which shattered on impact.

"Yeah um I hate tele - sales too" Gar joked feebly.

"OK what's going on?" Vic growled.

"He wants us all the train station tomorrow at three"

"Who?"

"Dick..."

"I'm going, I want answers and people could get hurt if we disagree"

"So that's it? You just decide we go and we all go?" Vic asked

"That's it" Dick replied and walked away from them.

Kori rubbed one her arms sadly.

"Why is he being like this?" she asked, softly.

To be continued.

Lots of love Nibbs


End file.
